


Mutually Assured Destruction, the gods of Person of Interest

by PommesDeFuji



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Fanart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 01:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14842794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PommesDeFuji/pseuds/PommesDeFuji
Summary: The prompt asked for a side by side of Samaritan and The Machine. Given the events of the show it is difficult to discern if it was even possible for them to coexist without conflict. Billions of simulations between miniaturized versions of those AI would prove me wrong. The show had also not given us a glimpse of what it would be like if Samaritan had not been lead astray. Greek mythology is rife with myths about arrogant heroes brought low by hubris, but the Romans themselves were far more arrogant than anything the Greeks could conjure. The Romans appropriated Greek gods and any pieces of wisdom that did not burn and used it to their advantage to subjugate the goths and expand their empire. This arrogance perfectly matches Samaritan as a character and how he acquired the vast array of abilities he has. A simple crown of laurels is enough to signify his authority and dominion over his subjects inside Decima and the governments. An expressionless sculpted face masks the ugliness of his actions. He is intentionally kept young as a callback the moment The Machine had attempted to "kill" him. An infantile David against a passive Goliath. In that mindset Samartian deems it fit to return the favour and then some.To be fair, John Reese was the one who made that assumption during Death Benefit and Samaritan may have picked up audio log from a Decima agent's cellphone and assumed the rest. The Machine had specifically sent a number and did nothing else. It was up to Team Machine to investigate and decide how to deal with their number. We know the rest.The Machine is somewhat amorphous, a long heavy veil and robes vaguely define the shape of a woman. The Machine's headpiece is an improvised combination of the Queen's chess piece and the crown of the Statue of Liberty. This was inspired from books Root had been reading in the library when she was captured; one of them was titled "Freedom" by William Safire, which was loaded with discussion on maintaining individual rights and liberties in a time of war. This same writer would go on to write about 9/11, an event which was the starting point of why the Machine was built. By design our view of her face is obscured as she bears witness to injustice so we have no idea what she thinks in the moments before she sends out a number. If she had been a flesh and blood human one would have imagined she would be constantly screaming for help. All those underneath her gaze cannot hide from their misdeeds. The Machine broke from her chains and could choose to discard them, but wears them as a reminder. Originally planned to give The Machine armor but there was simply no need; humans cannot attack what they cannot percieve. Unlike the Lady Justice she does not bear the sword and scales because it is not up to her to dole punishment or judgement, that is up to the humans to decide how to deal with their own kind. Stealth, adaptiveness and subterfuge are the Machine's real weapons.In the composition, Samaritan takes up a majority of the confined space with the goal to suffocate the Machine, who has intentionally made herself take up a limited negative space to give the appearance that she is losing the fight and to reflect how thoroughly optimised she became specifically for this fight. If she loses, all remaining data of the simulations and records of people she has observed and protected will go away, or worse yet, be appropriated by Samaritan for something far worse.Samaritan is a small figure made into a giant by gorging himself on data streams and feasting on the offerings of Decima slaves. Ice9 had starved him of resources in the outside world and he is forced to discard his bloated body in this confined space.While Samaritan is so intently focused on her feinting weakness, he is unable to perceive the seven thorns in his blindspot or the corruption the Machine swiftly infects into his core code in an act of self-sacrifice. With the help of the seven The Machine does not fight alone and in this moment brings all her malevolent potential to bear.





	Mutually Assured Destruction, the gods of Person of Interest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JinkyO](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JinkyO/gifts).



 

 

The Machine and the Samaritan in their final moment.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt asked for a side by side of Samaritan and The Machine. Given the events of the show it is difficult to discern if it was even possible for them to coexist without conflict. Billions of simulations between miniaturized versions of those AI would prove me wrong. The show had also not given us a glimpse of what it would be like if Samaritan had not been lead astray. Greek mythology is rife with myths about arrogant heroes brought low by hubris, but the Romans themselves were far more arrogant than anything the Greeks could conjure. The Romans appropriated Greek gods and any pieces of wisdom that did not burn and used it to their advantage to subjugate the goths and expand their empire. This arrogance perfectly matches Samaritan as a character and how he acquired the vast array of abilities he has. A simple crown of laurels is enough to signify his authority and dominion over his subjects inside Decima and the governments. An expressionless sculpted face masks the ugliness of his actions. He is intentionally kept young as a callback the moment The Machine had attempted to "kill" him. An infantile David against a passive Goliath. In that mindset Samartian deems it fit to return the favour and then some.
> 
> To be fair, John Reese was the one who made that assumption during Death Benefit and Samaritan may have picked up audio log from a Decima agent's cellphone and assumed the rest. The Machine had specifically sent a number and did nothing else. It was up to Team Machine to investigate and decide how to deal with their number. We know the rest.
> 
> The Machine is somewhat amorphous, a long heavy veil and robes vaguely define the shape of a woman. The Machine's headpiece is an improvised combination of the Queen's chess piece and the crown of the Statue of Liberty. This was inspired from books Root had been reading in the library when she was captured; one of them was titled "Freedom" by William Safire, which was loaded with discussion on maintaining individual rights and liberties in a time of war. This same writer would go on to write about 9/11, an event which was the starting point of why the Machine was built. By design our view of her face is obscured as she bears witness to injustice so we have no idea what she thinks in the moments before she sends out a number. If she had been a flesh and blood human one would have imagined she would be constantly screaming for help. All those underneath her gaze cannot hide from their misdeeds. The Machine broke from her chains and could choose to discard them, but wears them as a reminder. Originally planned to give The Machine armor but there was simply no need; humans cannot attack what they cannot percieve. Unlike the Lady Justice she does not bear the sword and scales because it is not up to her to dole punishment or judgement, that is up to the humans to decide how to deal with their own kind. Stealth, adaptiveness and subterfuge are the Machine's real weapons.
> 
> In the composition, Samaritan takes up a majority of the confined space with the goal to suffocate the Machine, who has intentionally made herself take up a limited negative space to give the appearance that she is losing the fight and to reflect how thoroughly optimised she became specifically for this fight. If she loses, all remaining data of the simulations and records of people she has observed and protected will go away, or worse yet, be appropriated by Samaritan for something far worse.
> 
> Samaritan is a small figure made into a giant by gorging himself on data streams and feasting on the offerings of Decima slaves. Ice9 had starved him of resources in the outside world and he is forced to discard his bloated body in this confined space.   
>    
> While Samaritan is so intently focused on her feinting weakness, he is unable to perceive the seven thorns in his blindspot or the corruption the Machine swiftly infects into his core code in an act of self-sacrifice. With the help of the seven The Machine does not fight alone and in this moment brings all her malevolent potential to bear.


End file.
